Taiwan’s $1 billion Lithuania fund is a high-stakes game of economic diplomacy

Taiwan’s $1 billion Lithuania fund is a high-stakes game of economic diplomacy

It was arguably three alphabetical letters — w, a, n — that sparked a fierce diplomatic showdown and trade dispute between China and Lithuania. Last November, Taiwan opened a de facto embassy in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius using its own name. Elsewhere around the world, its representative offices bear the name Taipei to sidestep references to the de facto nation that China claims as its own territory.